A.J. Jenkins: “In college, you’re wide open all the time. In the league, you’ve really got to have strong hands.”

JENKINS: My mindset going into this offseason was just trying to play more, regardless of whether Crabtree was hurt or not. It’ s unfortunate that he got an injury, but my mindset didn’t waver at all because he got hurt.

Q: Roman said last week was the best you’ve practiced since you’ve been here?

JENKINS: Yeah, I feel like I have up to this point, but I’ve got to keep doing what I’ve been doing and be more consistent.

Q: Is there anything that clicked for you?

JENKINS: I don’t know. I just pretty much had my head in the playbook last week a lot, and I knew what I had to do and I played fast.

Q: What’s it been like working with Anquan Boldin so far?

JENKINS: It’s been great. He’s a 10-year vet. He knows all the assignments and routes and everything. He’s taught me and all the young receivers great things about playing the position.

Q: What did you get out of your experience with Colin Kaepernick in Atlanta this offseason?

JENKINS: Just classroom stuff, kind of just being around him. I had never really hung out with him outside of football, so I was just going down there with him, chilling with him, staying with him, getting to know who he is and who I am as a person.

Q: Do you think that off-the-field stuff helps on the field.

JENKINS: Yeah, it definitely does.

Q: How so?

JENKINS: Just because the chemistry, the bond you have. It’s great to be teammates off the field because you know each other personally.

Q: Greg said you made a lot of plays last week. Can you take us through any of them that might have caught the coach’s eye?

JENKINS: It was just a couple catches. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Kap made great throws. Colt made great throws, and Scott Tolzien. I was just out there making plays. That was it.

Q: There’s a lot of expectation that comes with being a first-round pick. How do you handle those expectations?

JENKINS: You’ve got to just tune everybody else out. You’ve got to just go into the season and just think about your job. Media comes with everything, being a first-round draft pick, they all want to put this label on you, call you all kinds of things, but you’ve got to just be focused and not worry about it.

Q: What do you weigh now?

JENKINS: Almost 200.

Q: What was the learning experience like for you last year?

JENKINS: It was great having Randy Moss and Ted Ginn here and Crab and everybody else here. I learned a lot on the sideline.

Q: What do you know about how the NFL operates now versus what you knew when you came in?

JENKINS: It’s a lot faster. The windows are a lot smaller than in college, and the DBs are a lot quicker and faster. Every catch is going to be more of a contested catch. In college, you’re wide open all the time. In the league, you’ve really got to have strong hands because the DB’s going to be right on you every time.

Q: Have you been in touch with Moss since the season ended?

JENKINS: I have.

Q: What’s he been up to?

JENKINS: He was chilling with the family last time I talked to him. That was in February, though. I don’t know what he’s doing right now.

Q: Were you frustrated last season?

JENKINS: Not really. I was being patient, knowing my opportunity ain’t going to be this year, it’s going to be next year. That’s the mindset I had with it.

Q: You had a breakout year your senior season of college. What changed for you before that season?

JENKINS: I don’t know. Just hard work, I guess.

Q: How long did it take you to fully grasp the 49ers’ playbook?

JENKINS: It took me a while because I wasn’t so used to so many plays. They install every single day. It’s the constant install. If you don’t know what’s going on the previous day, the next install is the very next day, so you’re behind because you don’t know what’s going on. Your mind kind of wanders off a little bit. It’s kind of like school all over again. You’ve got to constantly study the playbook.

Q: Crabtree and Anquan Boldin are good at contested catches. Do you seek advice from them, do you watch what they do, and what do you think it is that makes them good at that in particular?

JENKINS: I watch everybody. I think Mario Manningham is also good at catching the ball, Kyle Williams is – catching means doing what you’re supposed to do. Catching the JUGS every day, it’s nothing to over think. Just catch the ball.